


Stuck with You

by Caramellody



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: BUT you can probably see this as jaya bruise or even mudshock if you squint, Gen, Ghosts, I'll add as time goes on, Occasional swearing, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, also to ease those afraid of the major character death tag, but just know that everything i write is platonic first, im only refering to cole. and my only spoiler is that hes gonna be okay, no beta we die like every ninja except for jay (who witnesses each of their deaths), there's no ships at all i take priority in story over romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:01:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24634246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caramellody/pseuds/Caramellody
Summary: Cole went through the rift. He should be back to normal, right?Right?Apparently not, but he isn't going to fade away that easily.Even if it means possessing the nearest available thing.
Comments: 18
Kudos: 49





	1. Day of the Departed

**Author's Note:**

> What was GOING to be a simple one-shot goof goof funnie joke story very quickly became a (somewhat?) angst-ridden story that I'm 5 chapters in and invested in.
> 
> Just a heads up, my plan is to try and upload when I feel confident that I can keep a schedule (rn the plan is every 3 weeks or so), BUT because chapter 1 is so basic and not that deep into it, I will upload chapter 2 tomorrow (especially because chapter 2 is personally one of my favorites I've written so far)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT 6/20/20 as you'll slowly see over the course of the few weeks before my next chapter, I'll be adding art! I wanted to first start with updating these chapters with art before continuing with later chapters, as you'll see very early on there will only be one piece per chapter, but a lot of the later ones will have a lot more.
> 
> this DOES also mean chapters might take longer to upload if I want the corresponding art to be uploaded with them. that being said, I do have good news, I'm VERY close to finishing the writing process! from then I'll be editing and working on the art, but ill be taking my time as to avoid burnout.

They were yelling at him to go to the rift. and Sure, he would and could but...looking at Master Yang...he couldn't help but stay and at least help him in SOME way. He may not be a Zane, but he's not going to leave him like this. Cole had just as much to blame for the mess going on as well. He hopped down the roof edge as he made his way to Yang.

"Cole! The Rift!" Kai said from afar, "You've got to pass through the rift!"

_"You must think I’m a fool for having such a petty desire..."_

_"No...I get it"_ Cole said, looking straight at Master Yang. _"Believe me, I get it. I know what it's like to feel forgotten...alone..."_ his eyes looked down on the ground. _"It...hurts"_ he sighed before looking back at Yang, _"But master Yang, you're already going to be remembered forever!"_

_"Me? How?"_

Cole smiled, _"You created Airjitzu!"_

Cole noticed how the revelation hit Yang like a pile of bricks. all this time, he was going to be remembered anyway. Cole couldn't do anything but extend his arm out.

"Cole! It's now or never!" he heard Jay scream from the bounty. The earth ninja looked back at Yang.

_"Now come on, there's still time to go through, both of us.''_ Cole grabbed Yang on his back and began to use his Airjitzu to fly up to the portal. However, as they heard the rift he felt Yang move.

_"I'm afraid that's impossible. The curse of the temple requires that at least one ghost remains behind as master of the house."_

Cole looked back, _"One of us...has to stay here?"_

Yang sighed, _"It must be this way..."_ at that instance, Yang held onto Cole’s gi tightly. as he looked straight at him. Cole’s eyes widened, his Airjitzu slowly losing steam 

_"Wh-Hey! What are you doing!''_ Cole said he was now practically airborne. Yang closed his eyes.

_"Settling my debt."_

and with one final push, white surrounded Cole.

and for the briefest of moments he felt...everything. he felt a warmth that he hadn't felt in months. and at that moment he was released.

but all of they came to a screeching halt as he felt that wave of cold cover his body, a chill coursed through his spine as he felt a separation, almost as of something was ripped apart from him. he tried to open his eyes only to be greeted to a blinding white light,. yet even in the light, Cole could see his body, slowly drifting away to a foggy land.

_"No..."_ Cole exclaimed, _"No no no! No, get back here!"_ his eyes were closed as he wildly shook his arms around, he didn't know where he was going but he knew he needed to get his body back. After a moment of aimless wiggling, Cole felt his back land on the ground. He realized he had landed on the floating temple. Cole was shaking. what was going to happen to him. was he going to fade away again? he tried to get up, but his legs were falling him. He was starting to breathe faster. using his arms, he tried to crawl his way to the voices he could hear nearby

"Is everyone okay?"

"Nothing a few screws can't fix."

"I'm okay...but wheres Cole?"

_"Guys! I'm right here!"_

There was no response, no reaction. Cole's heart dropped again as he realized it was just going to happen again and again and again.

_"No...not this...not again!"_ Cole was fully panicking at this point. He wasn't even looking around as his arm grabbed the nearest thing he could feel.

And this time, he was surrounded by darkness.


	2. Ghosted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night of the day of the departed should've been a happy ending. Cole should've been back to normal and they would have no problem with the next mission at hand. But as the ninja learned multiple times, life isn't fair.

Months had passed since Cole's disappearance. They all saw him enter the portal, it would've made sense for him to be back...but alas, life isn't fair.

life wasn't fair when they took Cole. and they were just as unfair when they took Wu.

The team was as united as ever, it was only five of them left by this point. why wouldn't they be? they all had eventually found various ways to cope with two losses in a row.

Nya took a keen interest in teas. She would hang around Mystake's shop to see her brew one. Mystake was a good person to have to talk about her feelings. Despite the others' suspicions, she always appreciated her occasional nonsensical ramblings as Nya tried to figure out her grief. she was happy to see her parents again, and at times she just couldn't help but feel guilty...

Lloyd would stay at Yang's temple, he couldn't help but feel like he's failed the team, failed Cole, failed master wu. even when he would get texts after texts from Kai and Jay saying he wasn't at fault, he couldn't help but feel bad regardless. It wasn't until he was called to visit Ninjago city for some inside work that he realized just how much he blamed himself for something he really couldn't control he moved on, he knew they would have wanted it so...

Kai spent his days and Knights at Laughy’s, chatting it up with Dareth, he figured that if Nya was having someone listen to her guilts, Kai should get someone too. his first instinct was his father, but his parents had already gone through so much...he didn't want to bother them. his next choice was the rest of the original team, but he figured they were finding their own ways of coping, which ultimately led to Kai sticking around at the karaoke bar. Dareth was always one for jokes, even in trying times, and it really struck Kai how much he needed a sort of comic relief ina time like this.

Zane and Jay took the loss the hardest. not to undermine Lloyd's feelings of losing his uncle, but losing the man who found them, as well as their former de facto leader hit the two in a way none of the others would really get.

the two eventually decided to stick together, talking to each other in cafes. the two bonded together even closer as brothers as a result. Over the months, Jay slowly began to tell Zane various nitpicks about Cole. until Jay realized he had to tell him about Echo eventually.

The moment Jay brought Echo up, Zane was determined to find him, so they took a boat (the status of being Cliff Gordon's son becomes useful yet again) and went to the tower Zane’s father was locked up in. The route there Jay began to tell the story of how he met Echo, and slowly telling Zane the story of Nadakhan and the sky pirates. Eventually, once they got there, sure enough, the rusty counterpart was there in his usual fragile glory. Zane was speechless. He had a brother, all this time.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Was the first thing he said. His face was still in awe. Jay sighed. Of course, that would be his first question, of course.

"The time never came up...we had lost Cole and then the whole time twins thing happened, only for us to lose Master Wu as well."

"Jay..."

"On top of that, I had to explain how I KNEW Echo’s existence to begin with so I had to explain to you about Nadakhan and that entire erased timeline..."

"Jay?"

"But that timeline hurts to think about, I know it's selfish of me and I'm sorry. I know I should've told you sooner but the image of seeing all you fall one by one just hur-"

"JAY!"

Jay looked back at the nindroid. his brother waving back at him

"Jay it's okay. we're all hurting. Do not think I haven’t noticed you act a lot less like yourself these last few months. I would never say that I don't believe you, not after seeing how you told the story and not after meeting...him” Zane noticed how Jay’s eyes darted towards the ground he briefly looked at Echo before looking back at Jay, “I understand...and I appreciate you doing this for me..."

"We're friends, right?"

"Of course, Jay."

Jay ultimately decided it was best for the two brothers to have the quality time for their own. Even though both Zane and Echo insisted that he should be with them, it just felt weird, like he didn't belong.

in fact, regardless of where he was he always felt like he didn't belong. so he would usually hang around the pawnshop on his own. The lack of missions meant he spent most of his days messing around with any machinery Ronin had on standby.

"You know, you ninjas are really stubborn. first Nya not thinking she's the water ninja, now you look mopier than you usually are."

"Oh, can it ronin. I'm not in the mood."

"lighten up kid, do you really think Cole would want you.like this? it's been at least 6 months by now." The bounty hunter left the room, “Besides, shouldn't you visit your parents? If anything they’d probably have better words of advice than I would.”

"Maybe so, but I've already visited them twice today."

"What's stopping you from going a third time?"

Jay looked at the back door, "You just want me to bring you metal scraps don't you."  
  
There was a pause, "Maybe so, but you should also be finding your friends or someone to help you, two loses in a row is gonna do a lot to your mental health buddy, you're all suffering and you can't just ignore that." Jay rolled his eyes, for as much as he wanted to chastize Ronin, he brought up a fair point. Cole and Wu's disappearance affected everyone, it may have affected them differently, but it still affected everyone.

_"Man, I could really use it. a cake or something..."_

Jay sighed as he got up and left what he was working on on the ground.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"I'm getting something to eat, I'll be right back. If I don't come back...I don’t know, I owe you lunch for a week or something I don't care."

Ronin smirked as he watched the lightning ninja leave the pawnshop, "I would prefer spare parts. but free stuff is free."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeskip!  
> When I was thinking about WHEN In the plot story this would take place, at first I was thinking between DOTD and S7, but then I sorta realized I couldn't personally find a way to incorporate it in a way I enjoyed (that and cole's role in that season is severely limited), which is why this story takes place before and during Season 8.


	3. Four Times Jay Walker Was in Control (and the One Time he Wasn't)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'It's just a coping mechanism, Jay.' he said.  
> 'hearing thoughts in his voice is just reluctance to move on.' he said.
> 
> Jay was grasping at straws at this point, trying to justify what's going on, but nothing could justify the fact that the voice he thought was a coping mechanism is TALKING to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: I'll upload this story once every three weeks  
> also me, a week in: christ I'm only human

Jay slowly began to realize that he was acting...strange, not just now, as he saw a baby right in front of him...but before being caught up in this mess.

And it really didn't hit him until this moment what it _was_...

* * *

The first time it happened was during their night stay at the palace. The night was clear, and the ninja were all on guard duty. walking around he looked at the palace towers.

_"Those look real high up..."_

Jay sighed, as he looked back to monitor the area, ultimately failing to do so. his eyes gazed onto the roofs of the palace. "You know...it wouldn't hurt to try..." he said quietly to himself. He looked around, making sure nobody was nearby before rushing to the nearest wall.

How Jay thought it was a good idea for HIM, of all people, to climb up the top of the palace roof was beyond him. Yet here he was, clinging onto dear life as he hung around the roof of the tallest palace tower. Jay was holding to the top as tightly as he could as his vision wavered slightly before going back to normal. He catches a glimpse of someone or something going down a hidden passageway leading underground. Jay immediately noticed it was Hutchins who was going down the hidden stairway. 

_“What in the world is here doing over there at this time of night?”_ He thought to himself as he saw Hutchins disappear underground. Jay closed his eyes as he took a deep breath before he slid down the roof, quietly whimpering as every sudden slide down. His head was slowly beginning to act up, but he wasn't going to let that stop him.

When Jay made it to the ground, he slowly followed Hutchins as he followed him through a set of tunnels, only to find an entire tunnel filled to the brim with blast zap.

"Ohhhhh no...oh no no no no no..." Jay slowly walked away before running out of the tunnel as fast as he could as he activated the communicator.

"Guys! The place is about to BLOW!"

_"W-what?!"_ He heard Lloyd say from his communicator. _“What are you talking about? Your signal’s acting up Jay.”_

"All you need to know is that Hutchins is behind this and that there's _BLAST ZAP_ all underground, this place is gonna go under, and FAST! GET EVERYONE OUT OF THERE!"

* * *

The second time it happened, it was during Mystake’s story of the Oni and the Dragon.

When she had finally finished the story, Mystake opened her eyes, it was at that point she noticed Jay pulled out a cake, wrapped in aluminum foil and placed it on the ground. she cleared her throat as the lightning ninja looked up, like a deer in the headlights.

"Oh...I...uh..." Jay slowly put his cake down, "I got hungry all of a sudden...had a spare snack so..."

Lloyd chuckled slightly, "You had a spare slice of cake? who are you, Cole?"

Jay's heart sank, his entire demeanor darkened in almost a second. Lloyd quickly realized he struck a nerve.

"Jay, I...I'm sorry I didn't mean to-'

Jay chuckled his entire gloomy attitude disappearing just as fast as it manifested, "N-No! it's okay. I should be used to the fact that he's gone. Maybe it's just how I’m coping..."

Lloyd sighed, "If it's anything, I'm glad we have someone like Echo helping us out with caring for the Bounty. With him and Pixal, nothing’s going to get in our way." He looked back at Mystake, "I'm sorry Mystake, what were you saying?"

The woman looked at Jay. "You miss your friend don't you?"

Jay looked as if he was hesitating before nodding slowly.

"I sense that he misses you too, even though you too are much closer than you think you are."

Jay looked back up at mystake, "What...does that mean?"

"You'll understand soon enough." she then looks at Lloyd. "And to you, troubling times are ahead I fear. I suggest you welcome anyone who joins your cause...even the one who’s caused you great harm before."

"Mystake...that makes less sense than what you told Jay. What are you even _talking_ about? What cause?"

But Mystake did not respond, she just smiled at the two as she sipped the rest of her tea.

* * *

The third time it happened, he was being dragged away by goons from the sons of Garmadon. He looked at Zane, but he wasn't giving him the eye contact he wished, but he didn't reciprocate the same feelings. a new feeling washed over him.

_Betrayal._

Jay looked desperately at Zane, “Zane! ZANE! Zane, please! Please help!”

“He’s still callin’ out to him!” Zane, or rather, Snake Jaguar, said, looking around, “It means that Zane fellow’s nearby!”

_“Zane…?”_

Jay’s heart sank.

He knows Zane’s smarter than this, if he planned this, then it means he knows something's up. but even so...Jay couldn't help but feel hurt. He wasn’t even embarrassed at the poor attempt at Kareoke, he was just _hurt_. Especially with all they've gone through together, _coping_ together. He knows Echo and the rest of the ninja must be watching, just as confused as he was.

Jay sighed, this feeling of pain only amplified two-fold somehow.

* * *

The fourth time it happened, it happened in a blur, it was almost as if it was two individual moments coming at him in rapid sucession.

Shortly after being caught, Jay was naturally and put into a cell. He sat there...alone.

_"W-wait a minute...where am I?"_

"Where am I? Where AM I?!” Jay said, increasingly agitated, “Locked up. Trapped! They've got the key and if I don't get out of here I’m SCREWED!"

_"I...locked up...what is this place...this doesn't make any sense!?"_

Jay sighed, "None of this makes any sense!"

"Jay?"

"Oh, good, I'm calling my name now. Now I'm really done for."

"Jay!"

Jay looked up to see the familiar face of one Zane Julien. He was still in his disguise, and not in his usual robotic form, but his Icy blue eyes were as familiar as ever. Jay looked up, ecstatic as he hopped up and down.

"Zane! it's you! Oh, I’m so glad to hear and SEE you again!"

"Quiet down!” Zane said, his hand over his mouth, “They don’t know I’m here."

"Yeah well, things have gone from a ‘pretty bad’ shitty, to “considerably worse” shitty! Turns out they know where the third mask is. They have a key to it. And if we don't do something FAST, they're gonna get all three. And if they get all three there gonna resurrect Lord Garmadon!"

"What?"

"The bad one too! The one that doesn’t like us and has four arms! We need to go Zane! Like, _**now**_!"

Zane stayed silent for a while. He shook his head,

"I’m...really truly sorry Jay but, I can't."

"What?"

Zane looked behind him before looking back at Jay, "I would love more than anything in the world to get out of here and figure out where the third mask is...but I need to ride with the group tonight...maybe I can figure out who their leader is."

"Who CARES about that?!? They are _close_ to getting the three masks!" Jay said, his voice subtly getting louder. Zane quietly shushed him.

“You don’t understand, if we can find the head of the Sons of Garmadon, we’ll have a better chance of taking them all down at once.” 

But Jay wasn’t convinced, he looked down at the ground before looking back at Zane. Zane looked him in the eyes, he was hurt, the look of reassurance he needed from Zane back then has come back to haunt him now. "Jay, you're smarter than you say you are. You can find a way out, I trust you." he gave a warm smile and with one last wink, Zane hides behind the nearest barrel. Jay desperately grabbed onto the handlebars. His lightning manifesting itself and just as quickly the lightning fails to connect with the vengestone holding him back.

"You say that but I don't even trust _myself_!"

Jay sighed as he slipped down from the cell door, "Oh this is hopeless..."

_"Hopeless?"_

"Yes! I said it's hopeless!" Jay said, looking up at the ceiling. For a moment, there was silence. “What is up with my head lately…”

_“I’m...I'm slowly remembering what happened....I...Jay!? What's going on!?_

"Huh?" Jay looked up, it was the first time the voice called him by his name. "Wait a minute....all this time, I've thought this voice was my self conscious....that it was a voice developed after Cole left...are you telling me all this time you are SENTIENT?! Who ARE you?!”

"It's just a coping mechanism, Jay, hearing thoughts in his voice is just reluctance to move on, jay," he said loudly, to no one in particular. Jay was grasping at straws at this point, trying to justify what's going on, but nothing could justify the fact that the voice he thought was a coping mechanism is TALKING to him.

_"I...I dont...understand...I’m so lost...where's the temple? Where's the rift? Where are the others?"_

A voice from afar yelled out, "Will you shut it?"

"NO, I WON'T!" Jay screamed, louder. He then sighed deeply, speaking once again in a normal tone, "And besides, _temple_ ? _rift_? Like, the rift Yang’s temple?" Jay sighed as he rubbed his face, "Is my mind _really_ that stuck in the past...?”

Jay heard footsteps behind him as one of the guards got up to his cell, "You wanna say that to my face?"

Jay looked back at the guard. "Sure." He said as he quickly got a hold of his neck and shocked him until he was unconscious, the keys flying to the ground. Once Jay got ahold of the key, he opened the cell and very quickly rushed to the door across from him where the supposed key to the third mask was. As he looked at the box, the voice rang once again.

_"Jay...? How long has it been since the day of the departed?"_

Jay froze...a strange question to ask now of all times. "About 2 or 3 months ago...Its been officially a year since Cole..." Jay sighed as he neared the box. He could already feel the waterworks, but he wasn't going to let that stop him as we walked towards the key to the mask.

_"A YEAR?!? Wh-how much...did I miss? Jay? Jay?!"_

For the first time in months, Jay ignored the voice in his head he removed the tarp to find the key to be...a baby.

Jay stood there in a brief silence, shoulders slumped, and jaw agape. "What the-!? The so-called all-important key to the third mask is...a _baby_?!"

For a moment, Jay couldn’t help but ask so many questions to himself: _Why was a baby here? Where are their parents? Were they abandoned? Probably not. But then, did the sons of Garmadon steal them? Maybe, but then that adds another layer: why did the parents not know this baby is apparently the most important baby next to Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon_? the questions all racked up in his head but all Jay could do was to let out a sigh as he walked away, yet almost immediately, the baby began to cry.

“Oh no. Oh for the sake of the First Spinjitzu Master, please don’t cry! I'm sorry I thought about leaving you. I'll take you with me, I promise!”

He quickly began to gently rock the box, causing the baby to calm down and cheer up, he sighed in relief.

_"I've been...gone for a year...I haven’t had a body....for a year...Jay,...I....what happened?"_

A headache began to develop very quickly as the sudden pain threw him back. All of a sudden images flashed towards him. Memories. Memories of meeting Master Wu while climbing mountains, memories of falling down a pit during the tournament of elements. For a moment Jay thought these were just fabricated recollections. It really wasn’t until Jay saw himself in that very same memory that he realized: _these weren’t his memories_. 

By this point, Jay was on the ground, he lifted his head as his vision began to waver, almost as if he was losing himself. He began to crawl back to the baby. Whatever was going on, he needed to get that baby, No matter what. If the baby was the key, he needed to escape with it. 

Jay slowly began to realize that he was acting...strange, not just now, as he saw a baby right in front of him...but before being caught up in this mess.

And it really didn't hit him until this moment what it was. The voice in his head wasn't some sort of coping mechanism, nor it was him trying to deal with Cole’s death…

Jay froze as his hand reached out for the baby. His voice, exasperated, “Wait a minute... _COLE_!?”

And it was at that connection that he felt himself slip away as the world around him went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The big wham chapter! aka the one where Cole finally wakes up after napping for over a year. This was definitely one of my favorite chapters to write, just for the ending and the subsequent aftermath in chapter 4 and I'm really glad you all are enjoying it so far!
> 
> The main focus is obviously on Jay and Cole (and each of their subsequent relationships with the others), and how their situation basically affects the overall plot as a whole, which I'm very excited for
> 
> One headcanon thing that will play a role in later chapters will be their eye colors: you can check out rough drawings of the ninja I made here:  
> https://caramellody.tumblr.com/post/620130818352873472/these-are-extremely-rushed-but-i-finally-made-a
> 
> but TL;DR: Both Jay and Cole have heterochromia, Cole's develops his (Brown/Green) after the events of DOTD, Jay had his hidden for a while (blue/orange) with contacts before taking them off after season 6


	4. New Body, Same Rules

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You know, Cole always wished to nod be sent to the departed realm, but he's pretty sure this wasn't exactly what he wished for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My want to be sure that I'll complete this story vs. my want to upload a chapter the SECOND I finish everything in regards to said chapter

Cole inhaled sharply at the very sudden and VERY immediate need to breathe air, something that only til now, Cole realized he somehow lost the habit of doing. He looked around at his surroundings, he was most definitely lost somewhere, but where? all he remembers is being locked in some sort of jail cell. Zane (who by the way looked...VERY different) came by to not help...and that’s it. It was clear there were some gaps he needed to take care of, but he'd rather find a way out before thinking about it even more.

Cole’s very first instinct was to grab the baby. He didn’t really understand how or why, but he just felt like he had to, or at least that someone in his head was _silently **screaming**_ about it. But, just as he was about to leave, he came face to face with a woman in a ponytail.

"How and where do you think you're going?" she said.

"Uh....uhhh," Cole frantically looked side to side. "Out...side?"

"I don’t think so..."

Cole sighed, without a second thought he pushed her aside and ran out the door, only to be stopped by two sharp pains on his left arm.

"Oh, Fu-!"

He bit his tongue as he turned and saw the woman look at him, laughing wildly, he noticed his right arm, now having a total of two daggers wedged in his skin, tearing his sleeve. The pain was sharp but he refused to throw curse words around a baby. Cole noticed the strange wild ponytailed lady looks at him before laughing once more and rushing right towards him. Cole quickly closed the door, the woman slamming her head by the door hard.

Cole sighed in relief before quickly wincing in pain. He lowered the baby to the ground. Looking at the weapons Cole decided to just wing it and pull it in one go. from then he was acting on instinct, the blood would move fast and he didn’t have too much time before he collapsed himself. Cole ripped out the rest of the torn sleeve and placed it around like a sort of pad. He looked at the baby.

"Now...We'll be out of here in no time..." he was starting to breathe heavily, his voice sounding vastly different than he remembers. Cole simply chalked it up to having not spoken in over a year. "Just need to seal this up..."

looking at his boots, Cole pulled out one of the bands around his legs and wrapped it around like a makeshift bandage. He sighed in relief, it wasn't bad, but it definitely was going to leave a mark. Cole picked up the baby and began to run out.

"Hold on...which way is out?" he said, all the baby could do was laugh.

At that point, the door kicks open. "Do you really think a door could hold Ultra Violet back?" she said, laughing wildly.

Cole didn’t even look back as he rushed out of the hall. He needed to find a way out, and _fast_. luckily, despite his seemingly low pain tolerance, he was doing well. And on top of that, no one seemed to be home, wherever this home even was. He ran door to door, slamming every door shut every moment he could. looking around, he eventually found his way to the subway station.

Another thing Cole realized about being alive for the first time in a year. _He is tired_. It’s a miracle he has been running for so long, but he can just FEEL himself going to faint at any moment. as he left the station, he looked up and noticed an all to a familiar sight.

"Guys look! He's okay!" a voice said. He could easily tell it’s Kai. Cole raised his free arm up as the destiny’s bounty lowered down as low as it could. He saw Kai slide down the ladder, his face ecstatic. "Oh Jay, buddy I’m so glad you're okay!"

"Barely! I had to run a whole subway system with a baby and- wait...what do you mean by J-"

"Look there’s no time!" Kai said he took the baby, "Think you can climb on your own?"

"Oh I was born to climb." he said, smirking."

* * *

The climb was slow and painful and Cole hated every moment of it. Granted, a lot of this pain was due to a wounded arm caused by two throwing daggers, but that’s just a scratch, tomato tomahto. When he finally reached the top, he was greeted by the familiar faces of everyone on the team, despite them all looking vastly different, he could tell these were his friends. There was also a new one new face he didn’t recognize, but she looked just about as relieved as the rest of them. Nya rushed over and grabbed him by the hands.

"Oh thank goodness you're okay Jay, I was starting to get worried." she then looked at his arm, "What happened back there’s and...why do you have a baby?!" she said pointing at Kai, who was messing with the baby. the baby clearly seemed not so pleased.

"I...I’m just as confused as everyone else...why is everyone calling me Jay? why are we running from a biker gang, and why is this baby apparently important!?"

Nya tilted her head, she placed her hand over his head, "Are...are you okay? Did they hit you hard?"

"I...I don’t know..."

Nya looked around, side to side, hoping Lloyd was busy with Harumi, and Kai was busy with the baby, "Come with me...I think we might need some time to figure this out.

On the way to the bedroom dorms, Nya had stopped in the bathroom to pull out a first aid kit, Cole stopped by the entrance, slowly peeking inside as he saw Nya pull out various bandages and wraps and disinfectants. At that moment, he also caught a glimpse of the nearby mirror. and suddenly, it all made sense.

When he was running he knew something was inherently wrong with how he looked. If anything blue didn't work with him, he was always ride or die with black

When he was trying to recollect memories, anything between that night during the day of the departed and recently in the jail cell was just black. Which would make sense if it meant you stayed months on end barely conscious

When he was stabbed it made sense he'd feel pain, it’s the first time in over a year since he had a pain tolerance to begin with! it made sense he wouldn’t be used to it as others.

When he spoke he knew something felt off, almost like it wasn’t his, but he was acting under pressure. To be fair, this was his first time alive in a long time, it was all weird. So to Cole, he just chalked it up to being rusty. but time passed and a lot of what he hoped would return to normal, didn’t.

Looking at his reflection, it made sense why people called him Jay, why when he talked people would only double down. He didn’t just look like him or even just sound like him. From the reddish-brown hair (which was a LOT messier than he remembers), to the freckles in his face and the Lichtenberg figures all around him, in every single aspect except his eyes (which were brown and green instead of blue and orange), he WAS him.

his mind flashed the last few memories he had as a disembodied voice, how Jay’s panic caused Cole to easily take over.

_"Jay."_ he thought to himself, hoping for a response, _"Jay! Jay, it’s me, Cole! Where are you?"_

But there was no response. Only a sight of Nya looking at him with concern.

"Jay...come on, the blood loss is really getting to you."

"N-No! it’s not blood loss. I can’t get a hold of Jay!"

Nya grabbed Cole from his other arm as the two slowly made their way to the bunk beds.

* * *

"Nya, I’m serious, I’m not mad! I’m actually Cole!"

"Jay this has been going on for almost a year." Nya said, stitching up his wound, maybe you should...talk to Mystake."

Cole groaned, "That old lady won’t help! I need to find my body agai-!" Cole moved back, Nya’s eyes widened.

"Sorry!"

"N-No...it's not your fault. I’m moving a lot..km just a little jittery. First time being, you know, alive in over a year."

Nya sighed as she cut off the rest of the thread and began disinfecting the patched up wound again before staring on the second wound. "Jay please this is starting to get serious."

"Nya please, I’m being serious, I don't...remember what happened last year?...what about Master Wu? could he help me?"

Nya sighed, "Jay, stop joking, you know Master Wu is m-."

"I'm not joking! I went through the rift! I lost my body! I was _terrified_ of disappearing!"

Nya leaned back, her eyes were wide. Cole leaned back as well. It was brief, but for a moment, Cole swore he heard his own voice.

Cole shuddered, his voice returning to Jays squeaky high pitched voice "Nya...I...I’m-"

"A-Are you telling the truth? Are you really Cole?

Cole looked at her, he nodded slowly, Nya’s eyes looked shocked, as she suddenly took notice of his eye colors, without another word she nodded as she quickly bandaged up the wounds, and tied it up. she looked back at Cole 

"Then...where's Jay?" she said, her hands laid on her lap.

Cole sighed, "I don’t know, I've tried calling out to him like he did with me but he hasn’t been respondi-"

_"Ngh...what happened...?"_

Cole straightened his body, Nya looked at Cole.

"Oh! Are...are you getting something? I...Is it Jay?"

Cole nodded, "Jay! Jay, buddy it’s me!"

_"Cole...is that really you? why can’t I feel my hands? Or better yet, why can't I feel my...anything?!"_

Cole looked at Nya, nervousness washed over his face he sighed. 

_“Nya? What’s going on?_

"Jay she can’t hear you. L-Look...It's a long story, Just....look."

Without another word, Cole got up and rushed out of the room, Nya quickly following suit. Once Cole made it to the bathroom, he placed himself right in the mirror.

_"What..?"_

"Look, I don’t know how it happened but you're not in control of your body right now, you blacked out when we saw the baby, and I...I suddenly possessed you...I think."

_"You THINK?!?!"_ Cole heard Jay’s voice scream. 

"Did I hear that right? Did you just say you’re _possessing_ Jay?" Nya said, walking up to Cole, "But that makes no sense, we SAW your body go through the rift, you should’ve been back to normal. I always thought it was weird that you never came back"

"But I did come back! It was just...I got split from my body, I think my body’s in the departed realm...and in turn, I’m stuck here without a body. Again. I think I latched on to the closest thing available which I assume was..." he waved down as his current body, "...Jay."

"If anything...this explains a lot," Nya said

“It does?”

Nya nodded “There were times that felt more Cole than Jay the last few weeks. But...cant you let go?"

"I don’t know how to without releasing myself from him...and I kind of don’t want that"

"What? _Why?"_ he heard both Jay and Nya exclaim. 

"Im...scared. Scared that if I let go ill just...fade again."

Nya closed her eyes, "I think...you might be fine, at least until the next day of the departed goes by and that’s a ways away. we are pretty early into the new year after all.”

Cole sighed once more, "Okay, the truth is...I don’t know how to."

_"Wait. you don’t know HOW to? then how did you possess me but not, you know, POSSESS me for a whole year."_

"I don’t know Jay, I was knocked out! it took a lot out of me!"

Jay laughed, _"Ha, Sleepyhead."_

"Cut it, Motormouth."

Nya chuckled, "You know I’m still here right."

_"Crap, for Pete's sake Cole you come back after a year and you’re embarrassing me. whoopdedoo."_

"Oh, can it." Cole said, now internalizing his words into thought, "It's not like it's the end of the world"

_"Cole I got STABBED."_

"You mean, _we_ got stabbed."

Jay groaned. Cole could just FEEL him rolling his eyes. Cole looked back at Nya.

"Say...Nya, you never answered me when I asked about Master Wu."

Nya’s smile faded in an instant. Cole raised his brow.

"Nya?"

_"Cole..."_ he heard Jay say, _"Wu’s gone."_

"Nya...is...is Wu gone?"

Nya sighed, her eyes widened slightly at his comment, but she looked at him and nodded slowly. "It's...a long story, a complicated one at that but...yeah, Wu's missing."

The confirmation hit Cole in an instant. He collapsed to his knees, "What..? What do you mean missing? What do you mean Gone?!"

"Cole..."

_"Cole, Nya’s right...its...a long story."_

But Cole didn’t want to hear, a weight of guilt and grief coursed through his current body, he felt lightweight as he fell forward and collapsed to the ground.

"Cole!"

Nya saw as Cole woke up slowly, he looked at her, his eyes a familiar blue and orange. "N-Nya...?"

"Jay?"

Jay nodded, "Y-Yeah...I think...it was too much for hi-"

Jay winced as he reached for his wounded arm.

"Right...stabbed...."

Before Jay would even ask anything, the two hear a knock on the door, Nya opens the door to Harumi, who looks at the two, her eyes widen at the sight of Jay on the ground, "Oh! Are you alright?!"

Jay nodded, "I’m fine, Nya stitched it up and all so I should be good...what’s up Rumi?"

"Right, Lloyd wanted me to tell you, they found Zane! He's...a little worse for wear..."

"Oh no..." Nya turned back to help Jay back up, "We've got to help him!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At this point I can't even promise you when the next ones are coming udgjdijds. A lot of the later chapters will have more than two artworks per chapter and will definitely elongate the process. But! Now that this chapter is out, I am open to answer any asks regarding possession au on my tumblr (aside from where the story is going, mostly mechanical stuff that might not be explained in the story or talks regarding goofs because the nature of this taking place during season 8 doesn't actually leave time for goof moments, unfortunately)
> 
> I now have a CLEAR and cutout idea of how long this story will be (which i wont update the total chapters until maybe...two chapters before the end? keep it a surprise, but also you'll know pretty close to the end when the ends coming.) There are two chapters that are by far the longest in the story (like, 10+ pages long) and those are gonna be a hoot to edit and draw for.


	5. Crash and Burn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes things don't go as planned. This is absolutely one of these times

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaa, im alive! college kicked back in so the day that started almost everything writing/art-related kinda crashed to a stop. which is why I'm ultimately gonna do what I did with chapter 1 and upload the art whenever I have the chance. I didn't want to hold off on the fact that I have like two chapters practically on the ready. So here they are!

When Harumi said Zane was worse for wear, she wasn't kidding.

Jay, Nya, and Harumi all rushed to the deck to see Zane, banged up, and beaten on the table. He was connected to the main computer as Pixal began running diagnostics on him. They also noticed Kai and Lloyd stood by his left side, while Echo stood by his right, he was holding onto the baby.

"Pixal!" Nya said, exasperated, "How's Zane?!"

"He is suffering failures in every part of his system. I can focus energy on his critical functions, but Zane has to be the one to reboot himself."

Lloyd sighed, "We're getting nowhere..." he looks at Jay, "And you're sure that the baby is the key to the third mask?"

"I think so? That's what the guards kept saying."

Lloyd nodded, "Then we've got to go."

"Where?" Kai asked. Lloyd looked to the ground.

"Anywhere that isn't here. we've gotta get out of the radar from the sons of Garmadon as best as we can" Lloyd then looked up at the screen, "Pixal. Take us anywhere that isn't Ninjago city."

"Affirmative."

The boat began to steer slowly as the bounty began to leave the city, the lights slowly fading as clouds began to cover the skies above.

\---

Hours had passed, and the group was scattered throughout the bounty. Jay decided to sit outside, the rain owly pouring over him.

_ "Ohhh man my hea...oh." _

"You back up?" Jay said, his voice just above a whisper."

_ "Yeah...I blacked out after Nya said Wu was...gone...is he really?" _

Jay nodded, "Yeah. Stuck in time."

_ "Uh...time?" _

Jay stood up as he began to pace around, "Right, you weren't here for the time twins. Long story short: Timey wimey bs happened and Wu trapped himself in time."

_ "Oh" _

Cole didn't really know how to feel. The entire situation was weird to begin with. On top of hearing about the events of an entire year that he's missed, he also couldn't help but feel...distant, in more ways than one. 

For starters, Cole was able to feel like he was in the body, but he felt like he had no clear way of control (made sense, Jay’s in control right now). it definitely fared for an out of body experience, but at least he could trust Jay isn’t one to do something reckless (because once again, it's Jay). 

Secondly, his lapse in memory began when he grabbed Jay back during the day of the departed and the last few days. If Cole had to recall his most vivid memory in the last few days, it would be when the group was in the palace and even then, those were pretty blurry memories anyway. Anything before that is just an unconscious blur.

Lastly, and most disturbing, Cole realized that being like this (a ghost body-riding the body of his best friend) was a two-way street. By all sense of the definition, Cole was inside Jay’s head, and just as Jay could probably access his memories, he could access his. Granted, it didn't feel right, a violation of privacy at the worst degree for sure, but the option was always there...if it ever came.

When Cole snapped himself back to reality, it was at that moment he realized just how easily unaware he could get in his own (metaphorical) head.

Things were all of sudden in shambles. the lights flickered on and off, the rain was beginning to become unbearable, when Cole finally analyzed his surroundings, he realized Jay was redirecting lighting away from the bounty, while the rest of the ninja were fighting off a figure wearing armor. there was no sight of Lloyd or Harumi

_ "What the hell...?" _

Jay screamed, "Ah! oh...Cole it's just you. You weren’t talking so I thought you went to sleep or something."

_ "Do...do ghosts even need sleep?" _

"Why are you asking me? YOU'RE the ghost!

_ "I wasn't asleep! I was...lost in thought. regardless, what is GOING ON?" _

"Long story short: someone put a tracker on Zane, hacked into Pixal’s system causing Samurai X to turn on us, and now we're fighting samurai X."

_ "But, I thought Nya gave up on the Samurai X moniker?" _

Jay sighed, "Another thing I forgot to tell you: Samurai X came back, but not as Nya, turns out Pixal’s Samurai X, just found THAT out pretty recently."

_ "Pixal rebuilt herself? Good for her." _

"Yeah it’s great but considering she's kicking our asses now, I’d say hold on to that sentiment for a bit."

_ "Fair." _

Kai and Jay tried to fend off the controlled Pixal, Kai definitely managed to hold his own, but Jay was slowly lagging behind. Samurai X got a hold of Jay's wounded arm and flipped him over, causing him to land on his back. 

"Jay!" Kai exclaimed, he rushed over and pushed Samurai X aside, "Jay, you okay?"

"Of course not...Just, keep fighting." Jay said, slowly getting back up, holding his arm tightly.

"Oh dear, please don't tell me you reopened your wound," Kai said nervously looking back at the blue ninja, He held his dual katanas in a fighting position as he continuously looked back to check on Jay.

"It’s fine," he said, he lifted his arm as blood slowly started to seep through the bandages, "It’s not fine." he sighed as we began to walk up to to the control room where Zane and Nya were

Jay could hear Cole sigh,  _ "Where's Nya, Lloyd, that new friend of yours, Zane, hell, even that Zane clone could be REALLY helpful!?" _

_ "Nya’s trying to find the source, Zane’s still out from when we found him unconscious in the desert, Lloyd and Harumi went overboard and we don't even KNOW where they went, and Echo’s watching over the baby. We’re already down a thruster so one more hit and we're all going to join you to the departed realm.” _

_ "Don't say that you idiot! we need to find Nya!" _

"But Kai-"

_ "Kai can handle himself, you know him more than anything he'll be able to hold off until Nya comes back." _

Jay nodded as he slowly rushed into the room. at that moment he saw Nya hugging Zane.

"Come on, we've got to help-oh!"

As Nya turned she saw Jay,

"Oh...Jay?"

"That’s me."

"Your wound! It's reopened. Did you fight her!"

"I had to help Kai!"

"Am I missing something?"

"Other than Kai fending off A hacked Pixal, who happens to be Samurai X? Or that Lloyd and Harumi are overboard? not much."

"I-Pixal?" Zane said, looking over at the monitor.

"There's no time to explain." she said, "I should be rebooting shortly, but Kai is in trouble." The three ninja nodded. Nya stopped Jay in his tracks as Zane headed outside.

"You need to stay here."

"What?"

I need to at least put you in an arm sling, if you keep moving you're going to get an infect-"

All of a sudden, the boat started to shake. Nya looked outside.

"THE SECOND THRUSTERS DOWN! WE'RE GONNA CRASH!" Kai screamed from outside.

"Oh no." Nya rushed outside. Jay promptly followed, holding onto his arm.

Outside, the bounty was very quickly pointing downwards to the ground, everyone on deck was holding onto something.

"Where's Echo?" Zane said.

"He's still in the bedrooms, watching the baby."

_ "Oh dear, oh dear. I've got to go back."  _

"What?" Jay said, his voice barely above a whisper.

_ "What if the baby gets hurt?" _

_ "Cole if we don't figure out how to slow this descent, we'll ALL get hurt." _

_ "But-" _

_ "Not now!"  _ Jay looked around at the rain, "Nya the rain! It might slow down the descent!"

Nya’s eyes widened. she nodded, her face quickly turning determined. "It's worth a shot!" He saw her rush up to the top of the ship.

Zane stepped back, "Hold on tight!"

_ "Jay, we need to go back." _

"Now? Why are you all of a sudden so gung-ho about this child?"

_ "I-I don't know?! We just, we need to go back." _

"We need to hold tight, we might not even make it without breaking a bone. Cole, I’m already wounded..."

Jay could hear Cole sigh, Zane looked at Jay.

"Jay...Jay! Come on, we've got to brace ourselves.

_ "I’m sorry Jay," _ Cole said. All of a sudden, Jay could feel a sharp pain in his head and course throughout his whole body. almost as if he was being forcibly pulled out of his own body. Jay put his hands on his head as he screamed, causing Zane to jump as he nervously looks at Jay.

"J-Jay?! Calm down! Deep breaths."

"No! Don't do this! Cole stop!" Jay exclaimed.

"Jay, deep breaths!" 

Jay seemed to be doing a half-hearted attempt at deep breaths before opening his eyes wide and inhaling sharply. Zane immediately noticed how his eyes went from the familiar blue/orange to brown/green. Jay was breaking heavily. He stood up straight before working slightly at his arm.

"Right...wound opened up again."

"Jay...?"

"No time to explain. I'm going to find that kid." and without another word, Jay ran back inside. Zane stayed behind holding onto the nearest railing. He was speechless as the last thing he heard was Kai's scream before he was knocked out.

"BRACE YOURSELVES!"


End file.
